MNI BRIEF: Eurozone Economy More Resilient Than Feared-Lagarde

Higher wages, falling energy costs and government support programmes will boost real incomes from depressed levels, helping underpin consumption as the eurozone economy holds up more strongly than earlier feared in the coming year, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said Thursday.

Pointing to a better-than-expected fourth quarter of 2022, Lagarde noted that unemployment remained at a record low 6.6% across the region, although it could edge up as growth slows.

“The economy has proved more resilient than expected and should recover over the coming quarters,” she told a news conference after the ECB raised its key interest rate suite by 50bps, leaving the deposit rate at 2.5%. The Governing Council also signalled an intention to raise rates by an additional 50bps in March